Installation for manufacturing resin based concrete

ABSTRACT

An installation for manufacturing resin based concrete panels comprising a continuous mobile path constituted by a series of rigid plates the lower portions of which are supported by rollers and cooperate with drive means, the frontal faces of the plates comprising means for mutually immobilizing them both longitudinally and transversely. Means are provided to disassemble the plates from one another at the end of the path and to return each of the plates rapidly to the beginning of the path. A bin overhangs the path in the vicinity of its beginning to deposit thereon continuously a layer of aggregate mixture and hardening resinous agglomerating compound. At the output orifice of the bin, means are provided for smoothing the layer, at least one roller being provided after the smoothing zone to carry out pre-compacting when the layer supported on the rigid plates passes through an interval of a fixed height, a roller subjected to a relatively high pressure then compacting the pre-compacted layer in which the sufficiently hardened state is conveyed to a subsequent panel cutting station.

United States Patent [191 Payraudeau [451 Nov. 26, 1974 [75] Inventor: Robert Michel Henri Payraudeau, Nantes, France [73] Assignees: Bordon Chemical Company,

Fecamp; Technab, Les Brouzils, both of, France 22 Filed: Feb. 14, 1973 21 Appl. No.: 332,497

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Feb. 15, 1972 France 72.05044 [52] US. Cl. 425/101, 425/373 [51] Int. Cl. B296 5/10 [58] Field of Search 425/94, 96, 99, 100, 101,

Primary Examiner-Andrew R. Juhasz.

Assistant Examiner.lohn S. Brown Attorney, Agent, or FirmWaters, Roditi, Schwartz & Nissen [57] ABSTRACT An installation for manufacturing resin based concrete panels comprising a continuous mobile path constituted by a series of rigid plates the lower portions of which are supported by rollers and cooperate with drive means, the frontal faces of the plates comprising means for mutually immobilizing them both longitudinally and transversely. Means are provided to disassemble the plates from one another at the end of the path and to return each of the plates rapidly to the beginning of the path. A bin overhangs the path in the vicinity of its beginning to deposit thereon continuously a layer of aggregate mixture and hardening resinous agglomerating compound. At the output orifice of the bin, means are provided for smoothing the layer, at least one roller being provided after the smoothing zone'to carry out pre-compacting when the layer supported on the rigid plates passes through an interval of a fixed height, a roller subjected to arelatively high pressure then compacting the precompacted layer in which the sufficiently hardened state is conveyed to a subsequent panel cutting statlon.

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INSTALLATION FOR MANUFACTURING RESIN BASED CONCRETE The present invention relates to an installation for manufacturing concrete panels containing a resinous binding material, especially those with a relatively small proportion of resin, generally below percent.

The installation according to the invention enables the manufacture of concrete panels containing a resinous binding material on an industrial scale, under such economical conditions and with such steadiness that these panels can be used by building and construction market on a large scale.

The installation according to the invention is characterized by the use of roller compacting means to obtain a continuous strip from the mixture of ingredients, which after hardening, yields the finished panels through a simple cutting operation.

While the densification of a resin based agglomerate heretofore posed a difficult problem owing, on the one hand, to the resin viscosity which makes vibrating ineffective and, on the other hand, to the unsatisfactory results obtained through the use of outside means for packing an agglomerate containing a resinous binding material-the sticky properties of the resin rapidly affecting the pressure or impact applying surface of said meansit has been discovered that, surprisingly, the rolling of a product with a low content of resin yields a panel having an excellent surface condition, which does not require a finishing operation and which could be directly supplied for use.

According to one embodiment, rolling may be carried out in several stages, applying progressively increasing force, thus best suiting it to the structure of the product to be densified.

In this respect, the invention contemplates an embodiment whereby the rolling means properly speaking is preceded by a pre-compacting means, suitable for substantially eliminating all the air trapped in the product and also for positioning or arranging the particles of the agglomerated material.

The installation according to the invention is further characterized by a continuous support for the product to be handled, constituted by a juxtaposed series of plates, each of which, on reaching the end-of-the treatment zone, is rapidly returned to its initial point.

In thefollowing description, given by way of example only, reference is made to the attached drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic elevation view of a portion of the installation;

FIG. 2 is a top view corresponding to FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic-perspective view of a liquid supply device;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic cross-section in elevation of a portion of the installation representing the strip forming equipment;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a spreading device cooperating with a batching bin;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the bin, the roller controlling its output orifice being omitted;

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic view of the equipment in the process of strip forming;

FIG. 8 is an elevation view of two extremities of adjacent plates before they are coupled;

FIG. 9 is a corresponding top view;

FIG. 10 is a vertical cross-section on a larger scale of two adjacent plates after coupling;

FIG. 1 l is a diagrammatic cross-section of a strip supporting plate or sheet and drive and guide means;

FIG. 12 is a diagrammatic plan view of precompacting and rolling units;

FIG. l3 is a side elevation of the pre-compacting unit;

FIG. 14 is a side elevation of the rolling unit;

FIG. 15 is an elevation view of another portion of the installation;

FIG. 16 is an elevation view, on a slightly smaller scale than FIG. 15, of yet another portion of the installation;

FIG. 17 is a top view corresponding to FIG. 16; and

FIG. 18 is a cross-section of part of the installation.

Aggregates, such as sand, are stored in an area 10 from which one or more elevators or'scoops 11 and 12 (FIGS. 1 and 2) supply them to the upper portion of one or more bins l3 and 14 constituted by vertical cylinders l5 and 16, the contents of which are fed through a chute 17 to the input 18 of a dried 19 which may be constituted by a horizontal cylinder 20, with a set of burners 20 adjacent to the input.

The dry aggregate is conveyed by an elevator 21 from drier 20 to one or the other of the two insulated bins 22 and 23, in which the dry aggregate is stored at a temperature of 60 to C. Adjacent to these bins is a bin 24 fed with filler such as silica, chosen as a function of its grain size distribution and also its inert nature.

The outputs 25 and 26 respectively of a bin 22 or 23 and bin 24 overhang the input orifice of a weighing device 27. Said device 27 is suitable for admitting predetermined weights of aggregate and filler at regular time intervals, by means of its two sets of scales into a mixer 28. After predetermined quantities of aggregates and silica have been discharged from weighing device 27, a liquid feed device is brought over the orifice of said mixer, this device comprising a first spraybar 29 (FIG. 3) comprising nozzles 30, connected by a pipe 31, in which is inserted a batching pump, to a tank 32 of binding compound, or master-batch, constituted by a resin and a very fine charge of pigmentoid micronic charge, preferably titanium dioxide, the whole mixture having a fairly viscous consistency at working temperature, which is of the order of 50 C. Such a binding compound may be as follows:

ELS epoxy resin TiO pigment charge The ELS epoxy resin is manufactured by Borden or any other compound possessing a plurality of active hydrogens atoms.

When the binding composition supplied from tank 32 has an epoxy resin base, it is preferably at a temperature of the order of 50 C. The aggregate from one or the other of bins 22 or 23 is at a temperature of the order of 50 to 70 C, as a result of passing through drier 20. The silica from tank 24 and the hardening agent from tank 36 are at ambient temperature.

After mixing in mixer 28 for a suitable time period, of the order of a few minutes, approximately 3 minutes, the mixture containing the aggregate, the silica, the resin, the pigment or micronic charge and the hardening agent, at a temperature of the order of 50 C, drops into a bin 37 (FIG. 4), a spreading device 38 (FIG. being interposed between bin 37 and mixer 28 (FIG. 4). The upper edge 39 of spreading device 38 communicates with the output orifice 40 of mixer 28 and the device comprises, in addition to a rear plate 41, and edges 42 and 43, diverging plates 44 for directing the granular material into the bin so that it substantially fills its width, which may be of the order of 3 meters, while the width of orifice 40 of mixer 28 is only of the order of I meter.

Bin 37 comprises a substantially vertical forward wall 45 (FIG. 6), a forward sloping rear wall 46, the lower edge 47 of which (FIG. 4) is practically in contact with a continuous strip 48, of Kraft paper or analogous material, unwinding from a reel 49 and passing over guide rollers 50 and 51.

Forward wall 45 of the bin defines a rectangular orifice 57 with strip 48 (FIG. 6), the height of which is of the order of cm, the distance between forward wall 45 and edge 47 being of the order of cm. The output orifice 57 of the bin 37 is thus delimited by the edge 52 of the forward wall 45, forward sections 53 and 54 (FIG. 6) of side walls 55 and 56 of bin 37 and the strip 48 of Kraft paper or analogous material.

Output orifice 57 is controlled by a cylinder 58 (FIGS. 4 and 7), the outer surface 59 of which is substantially at a tangent to forward wall 45 or slightly projects inside the bin through orifice 57, said outer surface being spaced from paper strip 48 by a distance smaller than that of orifice 57.

Strip 48 lies on a plate or sheet 61, forming part of a series of generally rectangular plates or sheets (FIGS. 8 and 9). Each sheet 61 comprises side faces 62 and 63, a forward 64 face and a rear face 65. Each plate or sheet 61 is, in one embodiment, 5 meters wide and 7.5 meters long. The forward face 64 possesses locating pins 66 (FIG. 10), comprising a tapering body 67 suitable for engaging recesses 68 in the rear opposite face Near its rear edge, each plate 61 may be provided with hooks 69 and 70 pivotably mounted about pins 71 and 72 attached to side faces 62 and 63. Hooks 69 and 70 cooperate with pins 73 and 74 located on faces 62 and 63 of the following plate adjacent to forward face 64.

On the lower face 75 (FIG. 11) of each plate 61 are attached chain elements 76 and 77, whose rods 78 and 79 delimiting the links are adapted to cooperate with the teeth 80 and 81 of gear wheels 82 and 83 supported by the frame 84 of the machine. The latter also bears rollers 87 and 88 suitable for supporting plates or sheets 61. The rollers 87 and 88 are rotatably mounted about horizontal spindles 85 and 86 respectively.

In an alternative embodiment, the chain elements are replaced by racks. 1

Upstream of hopper 37, pairs of gears 89, 90 and 91 (FIG. 4), engaging chains 76 and 77 and connected to a motor unit, drive overlying plates 61.

Upstream of bin 37, plates 61 enter a suitably heated enclosure 92. This enclosure contains a first compacting or pre-compacting unit 93, a second compacting unit 94 and a rolling unit 95.

Compacting unit 93 comprises an upper roller 96 and a lower roller 97. The latter serves to support plates 61 passing through unit 93. The distance between the axis of shaft 98 of the upper roller in relation to the reference point of the upper face 99 of plates 61 is adjusted so that the interval between the horizontal plane at a tangent to the lower portion of roller 96 and said upper face 99 is slightly less than that separating the horizontal plane at a tangent to roller 58 and said reference plane. Roller 96 is friction driven over the upper layer of material as it passes. Its shaft 98 bears, on its extremities, idler gears 101 and 102 (FIG. 12).

The second compacting unit 94 is constituted in a similar way to the first unit 93. It comprises an upper roller 105 and a supporting roller 106 against which bears the lower face 75 of facing plate 61. The distance between the axis of shaft 107 of upper rollers 105 in relation to the axis of shaft 108 of lower roller 106, thus the upper face 99 of plate 61, is slightly less than the corresponding one in unit 93. Roller 105 is friction driven over the upper layer of material as it passes. Its extremities bear idler gears 109 and 110.

The two roller units are preferably supported in the same housing 201 (FIG. 13). The lower roller 97 of the first unit 93 is borne on a slide 202 for initial adjustment. The distance between the axis of the upper roller 96 and that of lower roller 97 is adjusted by operating a flywheel 203 which actuates slide members 204 bearing the upper roller 96; similarly, slide members 205 which are initially adjustable bear the lower roller 106 of the second unit 94 and slide members 206, which can be adjusted by a flywheel 207, bear the upper roller 105 of said second unit.

Frame 201 is also provided with rollers 208 having vertical shafts 209 and transverselymovable by means of flywheel 210, said rollers cooperating with the lateral faces 62 and 63 of plate or sheet 61.

The third unit of rollers 95 comprises an upper roller and a lower roller 121 for support. Roller 120 is borne by mobile unit 122 (FIG. 14), of a jack device 123 with electrically or hydraulically propelled wheels and worm gears, means being provided to ensure that the force applied by roller 120 to the layer supported by plate 61 passing through unit 95 is of a determined value, for example, 50 tons. Jack device 123 may comprise two screw-jacks, one jack at each extremity of the roller, the jacks being driven by a declutchable motor above a predetermined torque. Roller 120 is rotatably driven by gear wheels 126 and 127 integral with its shaft at an angular velocity for which the velocity of its outer surface 128 is equal to the feed velocity of plates 61.

Treatment by the rollers at a temperature of the order of 50 C prevents the material from sticking to the rollers.

For the same purpose, provision is made for spreading a powder with a fine grain size distribution such as silica over the surface of a roller cooperating with material containing resin in order to flatten or compact it. The roller is thus prevented from removing more of less large portions of sticky material, a result which has been unobtainable by coating this roller with a mouldreleasing agent in film, sheet, liquid or aerosol form.

Means suitable for preventing sticking comprises a container 201 (FIG. 18) with a cylindrical body 202 closable by means of hinge mounted cover 203. An expanding joint 204 providing sealing contact between body 202 and cover 203. A compressed air supply pipe 207 from the tank, passing through pressure reducer 208, emerges at the lower extremity 205 of the tapering bottom 206; an electrovalve 209 is inserted in the pipeline together with a non-retum valve 210. A pipe 211 connected to the compressed air tank by means of a pressure reducer 212, an electrovalve 213 and a non return valve 214 emerges laterally in the upper portion (FIG. analogous to device 136. Device 157 comof body 202. Substantially at the same level as pipe 211, another pipe 215 extends from container 201 and opens into the upper wall 216 of a pressure reducing chamber 217 which tops surmounts a roller 218 cooperating with a sheet 219 of sticky resinous material, in order to compact or flatten it.

Since container 201 is filled with silica up to a level below that at which emerge pipes 211 and 215, as represented at 220, approximately Ito 2 kg pressurized air input to the lower portion of the container through pipe 207, causes a cloud of silica to form in the upper portion on the container. This cloud is conveyed by compressed air escaping from pipe 211, also at a pressure in the order of 1 to 2 kg, into pipe 215 and the silica arrives in chamber 217 above the surface of roller 218. It is deposited on said surface, uniformly coats it and is caused to deposit between the metal of roller 218 and the sticky material, preventing the latter from adhering to the roller. The air escapes through interval 221 between the vertical walls 222 and'223 of chamber 217 and the outer surface of roller 218.

Continuous air admission is provided through the bottom 207 of container 201 and through pipe 211. Admission takes place, for example, for a relatively short period, followed by further admission after a period of approximately ten seconds. The turbulence thus set up by irregular admission favor the diffusion of the silica loaded air. Compressed air consumption is reduced.

Rollers 87, 88 and gears 82 and 83 (FIG. 11) respectively form channels 131, 132, 133, 134 (FIG. 2), extending inside the upper tunnel kiln which may comprise at its inputs infrared radiation heating means and, subsequently, or simultaneously, hot air heating means, the treatment temperature being of the order of 150 C. The tracks of rollers 131, 132 extend beyond tunnel kiln 135 to a raising and lowering table device 136 (FIG. 15). Said device comprises a table 136' the corners of which are provided with nuts 137-140 suitable for cooperating with threaded rods 141-144. Said table 136' bears rollers 143, some of which at least are drive rollers for transporting a plate 61 at a drive speed exceeding that of the plate series.

Above apparatus 136 is placed a suction operated raising device 145 of an air-lift device, the orifice 146 of which isprovided with rollers 147.

The installation is extended by two tracks of rollers 148 and 149 (FIGS. 16 and 17), continuing the tracks of rollers 131 and 132 and bearing a metallic grid or belt.

prises a table 158, its corners being provided with nuts 159-162 cooperating with threaded columns 163-166. Table 158 bears rollers 167 and is provided with gears suitable for engaging with chains 76 and 77.

At least some of these gears are drive gears, the drive unit for said gears being provided with a force limiter.

The operation is as follows: when the mixer comprising the aggregate, silica, resin, micronic charge, hardening agent leaves the orifice of bin 37, roller 58 provides a smoothing action, so that a layer of very uniform thickness is deposited on plate 61 underlying the bin, Kraft paper being interposedand preventing any sticking, the texture of the mixture being, moreover, such that the side edges of the layer are clear, at sides 55 and 56 bordering orifice of 57 of bin 37.

The layer of material advances at the same speed as plate 61 bearing it. This plate is driven by the cooperation of three pairsof gears 89, and 91 (FIG. 4) with the sections of chains 76 and 77 of plate 61. Said plate pushes in front of it the preceding series of plates, this series being rendered perfectly rectilinear by the cooperation of gears 67 with recesses 68 and also by gears 82 and 83 cooperating with chains 76 and 77 equipping plate 61, and by the vertical axis rollers 208.

The layer forming materialemerging from the bin reaches pre-compacting unit 93. It passes through this unit by means of the combined drive effect undergone by the layer material by the fact that it is borne by plate 61 and the drive effect of rotating roller 96, this treatment being comparable to spinning, but with the spinning orifice being sufficiently dimensioned to cause the granules to be re-arranged without any predominating orientation. The space through which the material passes is selected so that there is a first compacting or pre-compacting effect, i.e., the grains of particles constituting the material of the layer are suitably positioned and part of the trapped air is eliminated. With the material composed as follows (percent by weight):

siliceous sand 0.5 72.4 filler 0-80 microns 20.4 Master-batch 5.05 Hardening agent 2.15

leaving the bin at a temperature of 50 C, it has been proven that, for an interval of 23 mm between the first pre-compacting or smoothing roller 58 and the plate,

an interval of 24 mm between roller 96 of unit 93 and the plate, is suitable. The thickness of the layer immediately downstream of unit 93 is, moveover, somewhat greater than this interval, being of the order of 25 mm.

The layer then reaches the second pre-compacting unit 94.

Particle positioning is improved. Residual air escapes. In the case of the above defined material, it has been proven that an interval of 22 mm between upper roller 105 of unit 94 and plate 61 is suitable. Immediately downstream from unit 94, the layer is 23 mm thick.

Rolling or compacting, properly speaking, takes place when the material passes through the third unit 95. The pressure exerted by upper roller 120 on the layer of material whose particles have been positioned when previously passing through units 93 and 94, provides the densification desired, without tamping and with sufficient regularity to obtain a material of uniform quality; the interval between rollers 120, 121 is The temperature of approximately 50 C maintained by enclosure 92 favors the efficient action of units 93, 94 and 95 on the material passing through them.

The layer of material compacted and rolled in this way passes through tunnel kiln 135 where hardening takes place. This may be replaced or added to by means of any other chemical or physical treatment. A material circulation velocity through the forming and treating machine of the order of 2 meters per minute proved favorable.

The layer of hard material leaves the tunnel kiln 135 in the form of a strip and the upper face of said strip is sucked against orifice 146 of device 145, thus separating the strip from plates 61. The strip continues to advance, the portion of the strip in contact with roller 147 being biased by the following strip portion and strip cohesion then being sufficient for the strip to raise by a fraction of a millimeter through the suction of apparatus 145 and not to constitute a drawback.

When plate 61 reaches table 136, its hooks 69 and 70 which have been held in lowered position by cooperation with longitudinal fitting 170 provided along the machine, are raised on leaving tunnel kiln 135 by cooperating with inclined cam means. Plate 61 is driven by rollers of said table so that, rapidly, it is completely superimposed thereover. When it thus lies on said table 136', the rotation of threaded rods 141 and 144 causes table 136 to be lowered to the position represented in solid lines in FIG. 15. In this position, lowered plate 61 is driven, either by the rollers bearing it or by the action of gears, upstream at a velocity which first increases up to the rapid return velocity, and then progressively decreases when the plate approaches elevator device 157. When plate 611 has left apparatus 136, table 136 rises to receive the next plate 61 of the series.

When the lowered plate 61, which is first accelerated and then decelerated, reaches device 157, table 158 of the latter is in the lowered position. It thus receives plate 61. By rotating columns 163-166 table 168 is caused to rise to the position represented in solid lines in FIG. 15. Plate 61 is then at the same level as the other plates 61 of the series and it is pushed towards them by the action of the gears which drive it at a greater velocity than the velocity at which the series of plates is displaced, until its leading edge engages the rear edge of the last plate in the series and the hooks 69 and 70 of the latter couple the advanced plate thereto. The force limiting device of the drive unit for re-raised plate 61 prevents the latter from interfering with the advance of the series of plates.

Longitudinal fittings 170 are, moreover, provided all along the machine to prevent the hooks from prematurely rising before plate 61 emerges from the downstream extremity of the tunnel kiln 135.

I claim:

1. Installation for manufacturing. resin-based concrete panels, comprising a continuous mobile path constituted by a series of rigid plates, rollers supporting said plates, drive means for said plates, said plates having front faces with means for mutually immobilizing them both longitudinally and transversely with the preceding plates, means for disassembling the plates from one another at the end of said path and for returning each of the plates rapidly to the beginning of said path, a bin overhanging said path in the vicinity of the beginning thereof to deposit thereon continuously a layer of aggregate mixture and hardening resinous agglomerating compound, said bin having an output orifice means including a roller, adjacent said output orifice to partially limit the same for smoothing the layer, at least one roller downstream of the smoothing means for effecting precompacting of the layer with the latter supported on the rigid plates and passing through an interval of a fixed height, a roller subject to a relatively high pressure for compacting the pre-compacted layer, means for continuing to drive the thus hardened layer, after disassembling the support plates, to a subsequent panel-cutting station, a height adjustable table for removing a plate after disassembly thereof from said series and suction means for supporting the strip portion previously supported by the removed plate.

2. Installation according to claim 1, wherein the bin has an input orifice and comprises, in its interior, means for distributing the material supplied at its input orifice over the entire width of the output orifice of the bin.

3. Installation according to claim 2, wherein the distn'buting means comprises diverging deflector plates.

4. Installation according to claim 1, wherein the roller of the smoothing means at the output orifice of the bin has an operational surface substantially flush with the extension of the forward face of the bin and at a distance from the path of the plates such that the aggregate is well distributed in the agglomerating compound.

5. Installation according to claim 1, wherein two pairs of spaced rollers are provided downstream of the smoothing means for pre-compacting the layer, means for adjusting the spacing between the rollers of one pair, and roller means adjustable transversely for guiding the support plates by their edges.

6. Installation according to claim 1, comprising a pair of compacting rollers, the lower roller of which serves for supporting the plates and the upper roller of which is connected to a press.

7. Installation according to claim 1, further comprising roller means at said height adjustable table to support and assist the advance of the layer.

8. Installation according to claim 1, wherein the plates comprise, on their facing ends, hooking means for juxtaposing them edge to edge and on their transverse edges, said means for mutual immobilization comprising pins and recesses.

9. Installation according to claim 8 comprising means in front of the height adjustable table for releasing the hook means connecting two successive plates.

10. Installation according to claim 1 comprising an upper roller track for supporting the assembled plates which themselves support the layer of material and a lower roller track for returning the plates from the end of the treatment zone to the start of the treatment zone.

11. Installation according to claim 1 comprising means for applying to the surface of a roller a coating of a powder having a fine grain size distribution to prevent the resinous compound from sticking thereto.

12. Installation according to claim 11, wherein the means to apply the coating silica comprises means to convey the silica by air from a silica tank.

13. Installation according to claim 12 wherein the silica tank is connected to a compressed air source for forming a silica cloud.

14. Installation according to claim 13 comprising a lateral compressed air supply for transporting the silica cloud from the container to the roller.

15. Installation according to claim 13 wherein the source of air under pressure connected to said tank for generating a silica power cloud therein and for delivering said cloud therefrom, a chamber partly covering the compacting roller, a pipe connecting said chamber to an output of said tank, and means for controlling the flow of air under pressure between said source and said tank, whereby said roller is uniformly coated with said powder to prevent the resinous material from sticking to said roller. 

1. Installation for manufacturing resin-based concrete panels, comprising a continuous mobile path constituted by a series of rigid plates, rollers supporting said plates, drive means for said plates, said plates having front faces with means for mutually immobilizing them both longitudinally and transversely with the preceding plates, means for disassembling the plates from one another at the end of said path and for returning each of the plates rapidly to the beginning of said path, a bin overhanging said path in the vicinity of the beginning thereof to deposit thereon continuously a layer of aggregate mixture and hardening resinous agglomerating compound, said bin having an output orifice means including a roller, adjacent said output orifice to partially limit the same for smoothing the layer, at least one roller downstream of the smoothing means for effecting precompacting of the layer with the latter supported on the rigid plates and passing through an interval of a fixed height, a roller subjected to a relatively high pressure for compacting the pre-compacted layer, means for continuing to drive the thus hardened layer, after disassembling the support plates, to a subsequent panel-cutting station, a height adjustable table for removing a plate after disassembly thereof from said series and suction means for supporting the strip portion previously supported by the removed plate.
 2. Installation according to claim 1, wherein the bin has an input orifice and comprises, in its interior, means for distributing the material supplied at its input orifice over the entire width of the output orifice of the bin.
 3. Installation according to claim 2, wherein the distributing means comprises diverging deflector plates.
 4. Installation according to claim 1, wherein the roller of the smoothing means at the output orifice of the bin has an operational surface substantially flush with the extension of the forward face of the bin and at a distance from the path of the plates such that the aggregate is well distributed in the agglomerating compound.
 5. Installation according to claim 1, wherein two pairs of spaced rollers are provided downstream of the smoothing means for pre-compacting the layer, means for adjusting the spacing between the rollers of one pair, and roller means adjustable transversely for guiding the support plates by their edges.
 6. Installation according to claim 1, comprising a pair of compacting rollers, the lower roller of which serves for supporting the plates and the upper roller of which is connected to a press.
 7. Installation according to claim 1, further comprising roller means at said height adjustable table to support and assist the advance of the layer.
 8. Installation according to claim 1, wherein the plates comprise, on their facing ends, hooking means for juxtaposing them edge to edge and on their transverse edges, said means for mutual immobilization comprising pins and recesses.
 9. Installation according to claim 8 comprising means in front of the height adjustable table for releasing the hook means connecting two successive plates.
 10. Installation according to claim 1 comprising an upper roller track for supporting the assembled plates which themselves support the layer of material and a lower roller track for returning the plates from the end of the treatment zone to the start of the treatment zone.
 11. Installation according to claim 1 comprising means for applying to the surface of a roller a coating of a powder having a fine grain size distribution to prevent the resinous compound from sticking thereto.
 12. Installation according to claim 11, wherein the means to apply the coating silica comprises means to convey the silica by air from a silica tank.
 13. Installation according to claim 12 wherein the silica tank is connected to a compressed air source for forming a silica cloud.
 14. Installation according to claim 13 comprising a lateral compressed air supply for transporting the silica cloud from the container to the roller.
 15. Installation according to claim 13 wherein the compressed air supplied for forming the silica cloud is discontinuous.
 16. Installation according to claim 14 wherein the compressed air supplied for transporting the silica cloud is discontinuous.
 17. Installation according to claim 1, further comprising a tank for fine grain sized silica powder, a source of air under pressure connected to said tank for generating a silica power cloud therein and for delivering said cloud therefrom, a chamber partly covering the compacting roller, a pipe connecting said chamber to an output of said tank, and means for controlling the flow of air under pressure between said source and said tank, whereby said roller is uniformly coated with said powder to prevent the resinous material from sticking to said roller. 